Keasden Moor Wild Flower Walk

Keasden moor is an area of wet heath at the crossroads near Keasden church. It is a fragment of the common land which once extended from Settle to Lancaster. It has Bog Mosses (Sphagnum spp), Hair-cap Moss (Polytrichum commune), acid-loving grasses and yellow Tormentil (Potentilla erecta). Whilst there is not much Heather (Calluna vulgaris) or Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) left, many other plants indicate heathland, some quite colourful: purple Heath Lousewort, blue and white Heath Milkwort (Polygala serpyllifolia), white Heath Bedstraw (Galium saxatile) and dark brown Heath Rush (Juncus squarrosus). At one edge is yellow Gorse (Ulex europaeus).

It is grazed by sheep, and maybe occasional cattle. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The farmers are not allowed to put lime or slurry on it otherwise the vegetation would have changed. Sensitive, low nutrient loving species (including Sphagna) are affected by deposition of nutrients as in excessive sheep and cattle droppings, and by deposition of nitrogen oxides in the air from fertilizers, car fumes etc. (It was the wrong time of year to look for two other rare species which occur on this small patch of heathland.)

This was a Craven Conservation Group and North Craven Heritage Trust event. We met at 6 pm - two years and one month following our previous trip. The 18 of us included the two leaders -myself and Maureen Ellis. This year we added something different and included a walk round the churchyard first. This enabled a less mobile visitor to take part; also, Doris Cairns had exactly one month previously launched her book Wildflowers of the Churchyard, illustrated with her paintings of Ingleton and Chapel le Dale churchyards. We wondered if we would find some of her flowers here.

I invited the participants each to choose a different colour and to search for flowers of that colour.

Noah chose yellow which soon led to a discussion on how to distinguish between Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)and Meadow Buttercup (Ranunculus acris). In Creeping Buttercup the middle lobe of the leaf is on a stalk; the sepals point upwards in the flower and the flower stalk is ridged. In Meadow Buttercup the sepals also point up, the stem is not ridged and the leaf lobes stick out like fingers on the palm of a hand - the middle lobe is not on a stalk

The ‘purple people’ found Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), Bush Vetch (Vicia sepium), and in an unmown corner, the remains of an Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula). The blue people found Bird’s-eye (or Germander) Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys), and had fun discussing whether the Bluebells were native Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) or hybrid ones.

I liked the raised grave to the right of the gate as you enter the church where there were Birds-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Lady’s-mantle (Alchemilla glabra) and leaves of Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris). These are plants of ‘old grassland’. English Nature had a scheme for recognising and classifying old grassland, including noting how many indicator species occur. In the churchyard as a whole I noted the following seven indicator species: Pignut (Conopodium majus), Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Selfheal, Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), Cat’s Ear (Hypochaeris radicata), Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa) and Glabrous Lady’s-mantle.

We heard a greenfinch saying the ‘grrrrrreen .’ For the record, I noticed that hawthorn in the area is still in flower. Our ‘less mobile’ visitor who had planned on leaving after the churchyard walk was encouraged to stay when, within 2 metres of the cars parked by the road opposite the church we found yellow Lesser Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula) and an exciting variety of rushes and sedges including Hard Rush (Juncus inflexus), Soft rush (Juncus effusus), Compact Rush (Juncus conglomeratus), and Sharp-flowered Rush (Juncus acutiflorus) not to mention Common Sedge (Carex nigra), Carnation Sedge (Carex panacea) and Oval Sedge (Carex leporina).

Noah noticed the Bog moss or sphagnum and was able to tell the group a fact he had learned the previous evening - how it was used as a wound dressing during the war.

By now it was 7:30 pm and we were still only 10m from the cars!!. As two years ago, half the party returned home and the other stalwarts then walked the mile through the heathland, down over the bridge of Keasden Beck and followed the river and then the track by the river and fields to Maureen’s house. We noticed a Bird-cherry tree (Prunus paduus) denuded by Ermine Moss caterpillars. How does the tree survive when each year the leaves are out only five weeks before all the leaves are eaten, I wondered. (I had just been taking a photograph of an Ermine Moth at last week’s Moss moth trap event last Sunday at Austwick Moss).